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By David Watson

Benchley, March 25, 2012

• Galatians 4:4 – Jesus came when the time was right for Him to come.
• The balanced truth about Jesus…
• He complimented, but He also condemned.
• Matthew 8:10; 15:28 – Jesus compliments people for their faith.
• John 2:13-17 – Jesus drives the moneychangers from the temple.
• Matthew 23:13-33 – Jesus calls out the religious leaders of the day for their unfaithfulness.
• He praised family life, but He also made severe regulations.
• Matthew 15:3; 19:4-6 – Jesus rebukes the traditions of the Pharisees.
• If Jesus spoke out about marriage like this today, would he be popular?
• Serving God must always come before family.
• He offered salvation, but He also demanded obedience.
• Matthew 11:28-30
• Matthew 7:21-27 – We can’t be acceptable to God with just lip service. We must obey!
• He spoke of heaven, but also of hell.
• Matthew 25:31-46 – Jesus describes the scene at judgment.
• Matthew 5:22; 10:15,28; 12:41; 13:40-51 – Jesus warns of punishment for those who do not obey.

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, February 26, 2012

• Acts 22:1-11 – Paul is struck blind on the way to Damascus.
• He saw Jesus (Acts 9:6).
• He saw that he was a sinner (I Timothy 1:15).
• This was a revelation to him because he thought he was doing God’s will.
• We must study the word of God so that we will know what sin is.
• He saw being religious was not enough (Philippians 3:5-8).
• Paul saw that the religion of his parents was not enough.
• He saw conscience is not a safe guide (Acts 23:1).
• I John 3:20-21 – The intellect, emotion, willpower, and conscience are all parts of the Biblical “heart”.
• He saw he must change when wrong (Philippians 3:5-8).
• An honest man will change from error to truth when he learns the truth.
• He saw the tragedy of living a lie (Galatians 1:15-17).
• He saw prayer does not save the sinner (Acts 9:11)
• Paul couldn’t just pray and be saved. He had to do what God commanded him to do.
• He saw that baptism is necessary for salvation (Acts 22:16).
• He saw that he must make Jesus’ word the rule of his life (Galatians 1:6-12).

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By David Watson

Benchley, September 18, 2011

• II Timothy 4:1-2 – Preaching was important in the early days of the church.
• Romans 10:13-15
• Preaching is relevant…
• Because God still exists and Jesus is still the Christ!
• Acts 17:23; 10:42-43 – We need to know the same things that were preached back then.
• Because salvation is still desirable!
• Romans 1:15-16; Mark 16:15-16; I Corinthians 1:18-24 – The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation.
• If it is gospel preaching!
• II Timothy 4:2-5; 3:1-2; Acts 17:28; 18:24,28 – True gospel preaching will offend some people, but it must have the Word of God as its foundation.
• Because it promotes obedience!
• Hebrews 3:16; 4:1-2; Acts 8:12; 14:15
• We should still be eager to hear gospel preaching!

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By David Watson

Benchley, August 28, 2011

• Romans 5:1-11 – God helped the helpless.
• God has given us hope of salvation through the death of His son. He helped us even while we were still dead in our sins.
• II Corinthians 5:18-21 – God took the first step by offering Jesus on our behalf.
• Romans 5:12-19 – Adam vs. Jesus: Follow Jesus!
• Adam introduced sin and death, but Jesus brought the gift of life. Adam’s action led to condemnation, but Jesus’ action led to justification.
• Ephesians 2:12; I John 1:8-10 – Our outlook is indeed bleak without Jesus.
• Romans 5:20-21 – Grace reigns!
• Romans 3:20; 7:7
• Rmans 5:2 – We should rejoice in our salvation!

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, July 24, 2011

• II Timothy 1:5 – Timothy’s faith came from the teaching of his mother and grandmother and from his own study. Like him, we must study to build our own faith.
• II Timothy 1:6 – Timothy had a spiritual gift he had received from Paul.
• I Timothy 4:14 – The gift was through the agency of Paul with the approval of the elders. Some point to these two verses as a contradiction in the Bible, but a study of the original wording clarifies the issue.
• II Timothy 1:8 – We are to be joyful if we must suffer for the gospel.
• II Timothy 1:9 – See Titus 3:5. This is not teaching that obedience is unnecessary as some claim. We must still be obedient, but we can’t be obedient enough to merit our own salvation. We must still rely on God’s grace.
• I Peter 1:20 – Our salvation was planned before creation of the world.
• II Timothy 1:13 – See II Timothy 2:2. Timothy was to hold fast to what he was taught and teach it to others.

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, June 26, 2011

• Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:5-6; Acts 10:33-35; James 2:24 – These passages all harmonize!
• Saved:
  • Not by works (excluded):
    • Sinlessness
    • Devise own plan
    • Any man’s plan
  • By works (included):
    • Faith that responds in works of obedience (Galatians 5:6)
• God’s offer:
  • Joshua 6
    • Boastful work? No.
    • Man’s faith? No.
    • Man’s obedience? YES.
  • II Kings 5
    • Boastful work? No.
    • Man’s faith? No.
    • Man’s obedience? YES.
  • John 9
    • Boastful work? No.
    • Man’s faith? No.
    • Man’s obedience? YES.
  • Mark 16:16
    • Boastful work? No.
    • Man’s faith? No.
    • Man’s obedience? YES.
  • Was the blessing each received by the grace of God? Yes!
  • Did they receive the blessing while rejecting God’s plan? No!
  • Did they receive the blessing at the point of faith? No.
  • Did they receive the blessing when they, through faith, worked the works that God commanded? Yes.

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By Brent Hairston

Benchley, June 12, 2011

• Ephesians 2:5 – See Romans 5:8.
• Ephesians 5:19 – Compare Galatians 4:1-7.

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, March 13, 2011

• All have sinned.  Romans 3:10-12, 23
  • This leaves us with four possibilities:
    • No escape – not compatible witht he love of God
    • Saved in sin – not compatible with the justice of God
    • Lived so righteously that merits forgiveness – not possible
    • God imputes righteousness – Romans 4:6-8
• This has two possibilities:
  • God imputes righteousness without respect to what one does.
  • God imputes righteousness with respect to what one does.
• This leaves two possibilities:
  • Man lives so good that God counts him righteous because he has merited forgiveness.
  • Because of man’s faith in Christ, God forgives him, i.e. imputes righteousness, to him.  Romans 4:6-8; Psalms 32:1-2
• This has two possibilities:
  • God counts man righteous even though he is not truly righteous.
  • God counts man righteous because God imputes righteousness unto him, forgives him, does not impute sin unto him.
• This leaves us one possibility:
  • Man is not saved by his own righteousness, but by the mercy of God.
• Imputed righteousness does not mean that Christ’s personal righteousness is accounted as mine.  It does mean that my unrighteousness has been seen and forgiven, as made possible by the sinless life and death of Christ and by my complete trust and reliance upon Him!
• Thus, God’s amazing grace is seen:
  • In giving the gospel
  • In His continued forgiveness to those who walk in the light (I John 1:7)
• If we walk in the steps of that faith of Abraham, God will not impute sin unto us; rather He will forgive us – impute righteousness unto us.  And being forgiven, we will be righteous by the grace of God.

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By Garren Stroud

Benchley, March 8, 2011

• The gospel is for all personalities
  • Driver:  Peter – Matthew 16:16,22; 17:4; 26:33
  • Analytical:  Paul – Romans 6:15-18; 7:15-f
  • Expressive:  Jude – Jude 11-18
  • Amiable
    • John – I John 2:10; 3:1-2
    • Philip – Acts 8:30
• The wisdom of man goes too far
  • Man says truth is not absolute.
    • Truth is based on each individual’s perspective.  What may be truth for one is not for another.  I Samuel 15:15-28
    • Pilate held to this wisdom.  John 18:38
  • There is absolute truth.  John 8:32; 17:17; Romans 1:25
  • There is a reason that truth is absolute.
    • Jeremiah 10:23; Isaiah 55:8-11; I Corinthians 2:9-16
• The truth concerning salvation
  • Faith is a must.  It is the truth from God.  Romans 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:6
  • Repentance is required.  It is the truth from God.  Luke 13:1-5; Acts 26:20
  • Confession must be made.  It is the truth from God.  Romans 10:9-10; Acts 8:37
  • Baptism is not an option.  It is the truth from God.  Acts 2:38; I Peter 3:21
  • The truth:  you can’t be saved without it!
• The truth converning living our lives as a Christian
  • Some have come to the point that organizational relationship places one in Christ.
    • II Timothy 2:15
    • The church saves no one.  Acts 2:47
    • Family lineage saves no one.  Ezekiel 18:20
    • Having our names in the directory does not place us in Christ.  Hebrews 12:23; Philippians 4:3
  • The child of God is in Christ by truth.  Colossians 1:21-23; I Peter 1:22
• Conclusion
  • The gospel is for all.  I John 4:4
  • The gospel can save all.  I Timothy 2:4

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By Garren Stroud

Benchley, March 6, 2011

• What was the “fault” in the Mosaical law?
  • Romans 7:10-12
  • Hebrews 10:4 – The old law was not intended for eternal salvation.
  • Exodus 19:5-6
• Hebrews 8:8 – “finding fault with them” refers to the Israelites, who failed in keeping the law.
  • Hebrews 4:2
• Hebrews 8:8-9 – The promise of something to come was referring to the New Covenant.
• Hebrews 8:9 – God does not “regard” those who do not obey Him.
• Hebrews 8:10
  • The new covenant would take effect after the old covenant was put away.
  • Exodus 34:1; II Corinthians 3:3 – The old law was written on stone tablets.  The new law is written on the hearts of men.
  • The Jews were God’s chosen people, but they rejected Him by not doing His will.  (They were chosen in the sense that Christ would come through them.)
    • Deuteronomy 11:18-20; Isaiah 44:1,6
• Hebrews 8:11 – In the old covenant, people entered into the covenant at circumcision.  In the new covenant, knowledge is required before one can enter the covenant.
• Hebrews 8:12 – Under the old covenant, the sins of the people were brougth to rememberance once a year and forgiven for a year at the scapegoat ceremony.  Christ’s blood is the only thing that can truly forgive sins.